Blizzard will open a World of Warcraft: Forever stress test to all players on October 19. No subscription, Game Time, invitation or beta access is required, according to the announcement Wowhead carried and PCGamesN reported.
The test begins at 2:00 p.m. PDT in North America and 19:00 CEST in Europe, and at 06:00 KST in Korea and 05:00 CST in Taiwan on October 20. Blizzard said the window may end earlier or run later as needed.
PCGamesN noted that WoW: Forever will be included in a standard World of Warcraft subscription once it releases on November 4, but until then lapsed players and newcomers need beta access to play. The stress test is the only announced way to try it before launch without either.
To take part, players open the Battle.net desktop app, select World of Warcraft, choose "World of Warcraft: Forever Stress Test" under In Development in the Game Version menu, and install it. Once the test is live they can pick a test realm and create a new character.
The existing beta will go offline shortly before the stress test begins and is expected to return shortly after it ends. Blizzard said October 21 is the last full day of beta testing before the global launch.
All characters, names and guilds created during the test will be wiped from the stress test servers ahead of name reservations. Players who pre-purchase the Skyborne Heroic Pack, Skyborne Epic Pack or the limited-time Warcraft Forever Collection get early name reservation from October 27 through November 3. Names will be assigned first-come, first-served, and Blizzard said specific names cannot be guaranteed.
